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      Holding the Eel of Science by the Tail: Women's Sociability in the Eighteenth-Century British Scientific World

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      CLARK-THESIS-2018.pdf (841.5Kb)
      Date
      2017-12-22
      Author
      Clark, Chelsea
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
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      Abstract
      In eighteenth-century Britain, intellectual and scientific activities were primarily organized through the operations of formal societies; however, these scientific societies did not admit women as members. Despite this, a community of upper class women grasped the “eel of science” by its elusive tail and engaged in intellectual and scientific activity without the benefit of advanced formal education at a university or academy. This informal gathering of male and female friends began to refer to their group as the Bluestocking Philosophers. This thesis examines the Bluestocking Philosophers by considering the concepts of community, network, public/private, knowledge, and understanding, and how these concepts fit into the broader histories of women in science. By examining the interactions, social rituals, and the pursuit of knowledge of the Bluestockings, I shed light on women’s active sociability within the scientific community and thereby further our understanding of gender and science in the eighteenth century. Founding member, Elizabeth Montagu, is the center of this study. She facilitated the group’s participation in philosophical discussions, made recommendations of studies of natural history, classical history and a broad range of philosophies, and engaged in the mutual exchange of scientific knowledge and objects. It is for these reasons that I bring the studies of the Bluestocking Society into the context of the scientific activities occurring in eighteenth-century London. By exploring the topics of sociability, education, identity formation, and the creation of an intellectual society, I argue that members of the Bluestocking society desired to be involved in public science because they were shaped by their unique circumstances as affluent, childless, well-educated, and sociable women.
      Degree
      Master of Arts (M.A.)
      Department
      History
      Program
      History
      Supervisor
      Smith, Lisa; Neufeld, Matthew
      Committee
      Vargo, Lisa; Wright, Sharon; Myers, Mark; Cunfer, Geoff
      Copyright Date
      June 2018
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/8314
      Subject
      science
      women
      sociability
      community
      society
      network
      public
      private
      gender
      eighteenth century
      salon
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      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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